Dearborn Heights home leveled by explosion, nobody hurt

DEARBORN HEIGHTS - The Dearborn Heights Fire Department rushed to help a family pet and put out a fire on Friday after an explosion rocked a neighborhood. 

Firefighters were called to the area of Pelham Street between Annapolis and I-94 in Dearborn Heights after the explosion. Several firefighters rushed to the home and video from SkyFOX showed them fighting flames.

The home was leveled with little remaining of the structure as firefighters put out flames. Nobody was home at the time and no injuries were reported but firefighters pulled a family pet from the remains.

Neighbors, like Savannah Gonzalez, reported hearing the explosion.

"We were sitting on the couch, and we heard the big boom, crash thing," she said. "We thought it was a tree that fell on the house or it sounded like a car had ran into our neighbor’s house."

But it was actually a house fire two doors down from Gonzalez and Kailee Martin's home.

"I was like oh my gosh, the house is collapsing. So, we ran to the front yard. That’s when it started smoking. You could really smell the gas line. She’s the one who ended up calling the police. I was screaming on the front lawn making sure nobody was in the house," Gonzlez said.

"Within a couple of minutes of being on the phone with 911, you could see the flames start right around the gas meter. The house – the sides of the house were coming off. This house is going to explode so we’re trying to get our neighbors out, knocking on the door, banging on the door," Martin said.

Within minutes, a fire crew had arrived to help put out the fire.

"Usually when someone hears an explosion, it’s some sort of gas leak. The area of the house, there is the utilities that come in. There is a hot water tank in the area. The way it’s kicked out of the back side, and the bulk of the fire when my guys arrived, it’s looking like that area," said Dearborn Heights Fire Marshal Max Mitts .

The fire is still under investigation and all that's left of the back of the home are the water heater and a pet crate. Two firefighters raced in to save a pet from the burning home.

"We initially entered the back door, and the dog was in that room. Then, it took me two or three attempts to get him because the dog was terrified and very aggressive and didn’t want to come peacefully, but the fire was spreading so I didn’t have enough time. So, I grabbed it and rolled out the door," firefighter Joe Gailbrath said.

Fire crews will have to tear the remains of the house down. The neighboring homes had some cosmetic damage but nothing major, authorities said.